Developer: Gearbox Software, Armature Studio, Iron Galaxy Studios
Publisher: 2K Games
Platform: PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Tested on: Xbox One
Borderlands: The Handsome Collection – Review
Borderlands, the game that was known thanks to its cel shaded art style, the crazy characters and above all, the unlimited amount of guns, is back! So far three games were released, with the third one situating itself in the middle of the first and second installment. With the release of the so called pre-sequel on the last generation of consoles, gamers wondered why their shiny new PlayStation 4 of Xbox One did not receive this great title of the Borderlands series. But don’t worry gunslinging enthusiasts, ‘Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel’ and ‘Borderlands 2’ were bundled in The Handsome Collection, for your enjoyment.
Note: Some portions of this review, such as story, will be a tad shorter than usual. If you wish to read the original reviews of both games separately, you can click here for the Borderlands 2 review and here for the Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel review.
Story
As the collection consists out of two games, you will be presented with two different stories, that are in some way alike. Both stories revolve around the Vault Hunters, who roamed the wasteland planet named Pandora. Borderlands 2 again takes place on Pandora, where you step in the footsteps of the first Vault Hunters that went ‘home’ empty handed.
Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel situates itself between the first and the second game, on Pandora’s moon, Elpis. This game focuses on learning more about characters you’ve come to know in the first and second game. Perhaps you were right for hating that one NPC , or maybe (s)he was not a bad person after all…
In both games the story value is quite decent. Perhaps the Pre-Sequel will give you more in terms of getting attached to characters, instead of a normal simple storyline. That being said, you won’t have that much time to talk with everyone anyway, as you will be constantly blasting away your enemies.
Graphics
Even though these remastered versions of two of the Borderlands games might not be on par with some of the current next-gen releases, it’s still noticeable that both versions have been tweaked quite a bit. Everything seems to be moving more smoothly, textures have been polished up and both games simply look better than on their initial releases. Truth be told, the cel shaded graphics make the game also appear a tad better than it would have with a normally styled approach.
Not only the overall quality of both games has been improved, but the already good looking characters, be it playable ones or NPCs, have been upscaled a bit as well.
Sound
Music wise the games haven’t changed at all. You’ll experience a soundtrack that gets your adrenaline pumping when needed, but the strength of both games still lies in the quality of the voice acting.
During nearly all your quests, instructions are brought to you by spoken dialogue. Even when roaming around outside of town, inhabitants and enemies will be able to contact you one way or another. Also, your own character(s) will have a lot more to say than one or two generic lines which they repeat over and over again. You’ll be able to enjoy all the witty and funny remarks your Vault Hunters make during your playthroughs.
Gameplay
Of course the core of both Borderlands games in the bundle has not changed at all. You’ll still be able to enjoy the first person shooter, with the implementation of many RPG elements. Even though both games originally only offered four characters per game, this has been altered to six. The addition of two extra characters has to do with the fact that the DLC of both titles have been added to the mix. Don’t worry, you’ll still find an endless supply of different guns as well.
At the beginning of each game you’ll be able to choose your character (class) and personalize a few little touches, such as outfit colors and in some cases a different mask or haircut. When you arrive on the scene, you’ll just have to blast your way through all the hostile environments of Pandora and Elpis to complete your main objective, as well as side missions. When you complete quests, kill enemies or explore new areas, you will receive experience points, which will allow you to level up. When leveling up, you will be able to choose skills out of different skill trees, to personalize your character(s) and pick a playing style that suits your fancy.
It’s still clear the game focuses on co-op/online play, as the game itself is quite hard to finish solo. You’ll notice that many skills will benefit your allies, sometimes even more than they would help yourself. If you’re still keen on finishing both games without a wingman or a few extra Vault Hunters, don’t fret too much, as it is still possible, with a few deaths along the way. It can only be cheered upon that you’re still able to play locally with up to four players.
Even though the flow feels just right, the loading times might interrupt your overall contented mood from time to time, as they are still quite long. Seeing you will have to enter new zones on a regular basis, the loading times might sometimes become a drag. Another small annoyance might be the fact that there were still a lot of ‘invisible walls’ present in this remastered version. The original games often struggled with a decent amount of these invisible walls and it’s sad to see that many are still intact.
Conclusion
Borderlands: The Handsome Collection is a great title for gamers who did not play one or both games of the collection, or those who did not own any of the DLC content. Whilst the collection is certainly a great package, well worth its retail value, it still has a few rough edges we would have loved to see polished up for this new version. Nonetheless, certainly worth checking out if your ‘trigger finger’ is aching for more.
Borderlands: The Handsome Collection - Review,
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